Microsoft Word: DOC and DOCX documents

DOCX, along with TXT, is probably the most common format uploaded to Wordy. It is the default file format for Microsoft Word, but can also be used by other editing applications, such as Apple’s Pages and LibreOffice. DOC is the older version of this format and is, essentially, redundant, but can still be uploaded to Wordy for checking.

Clients can include tables and figures in a DOCX. A number in a table will count as a single word and note that pricing (and what the editor gets paid) is based on the word count. A figure counts as one word, regardless of what it represents. Any text embedded in a figure does not count towards the word count and so will likely be ignored by your editor. A good editor, however, will usually point out errors in a figure (as comments, most likely) and will also cross-check figures, tables, captions and the text to ensure consistency of both content and form. Also note that it may be difficult for your editor to understand a technical text without the figures and tables. In summary, I would generally recommend including figures in your DOCX. Include tables if they contain much text.

Most editors will work on DOCX document using MS Word. For an editor, the main advantages of using MS Word are the multi-lingual spellchecking and grammar-checking options. I don’t speak French, but if a client uses the odd French word, I can check the spelling, including accents, using Word’s built-in French dictionary. 

For longer documents, I create a custom dictionary in Word, and I add to it all the words (like proper nouns) and abbreviations specific to the current document. This is particularly useful for things like product codes that are a mix of letters and numbers (like GPT-4) and invented words in a fictional piece, because I don’t want such miscellaneous words in my standard dictionary. The idea being that I want to scrutinise anything unusual at first sight and then either change globally or mark as correct. (You can do something similar using “Ignore all”, but that doesn’t work for pieces spread over two or more jobs in Wordy.)

Moreover, formatting can be applied consistently using Word’s styles. Finally, MS Word has powerful add-ons such as PerfectIt and MathType, which are useful for an editor.

For a client, the main advantages are tracked changes and comments. Tracked changes can quickly be reviewed and then accepted or rejected. Comments are used by an editor for raising author queries in context.